listen with half an ear

English

Verb

listen with half an ear (third-person singular simple present listens with half an ear, present participle listening with half an ear, simple past and past participle listened with half an ear)

1. (figuratively) To listen distractedly, without paying attention.

Translations

Translations

• Finnish: kuunnella puolella korvalla, kuunnella toisella korvalla
• French: n’écouter que d’une oreille (fr)
• Hungarian: fél füllel hallgat
• Polish: słuchać jednym uchem impf
• Russian: слу́шать вполу́ха (slúšatʹ vpolúxa)

See also

• keep half an eye on
• be all ears

Further reading

• “listen with half an ear”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “listen with half an ear” (US) / “listen with half an ear” (UK) in Macmillan English Dictionary.
• “listen with only half an ear”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “half an eye ear” in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Longman.